10 SUPERHOT COLLECTIBLES

Make 1000% profit in this car crazed collectibles market. You could have these home in your attic!

1. Action's 1/24-scale 1999 Tony Stewart Home Depot NASCAR stock car.
2. Vintage Mobil Pegasus gas-station signs.
   
3. Exoto's 1/18-scale 1963 Corvette Grand Sport.
   
4. Big Boy restaurant statue.
   
5. U.S. Grand Prix ticket stubs.
   
6. Tinplate toy 1956 Ford by Marusan.
   
7. Maisto 1/64-scale Tonka "Collector's Search" Blizzard Tamer.
   
8. Dodge Durango 1997 Wheaties-box press kit.
   
9. Code 3 1/32-scale "Diamond Plate" FDNY Fire Engine 88
   
10. Plymouth ads, posters, and automobilia.
    

Collectibles are hot and you can cash in making as much as $500 profit on car toys and model cars. Mobilia, a monthly magazine devoted to car-related collectibles and memorabilia, announced its Top 10 automotive collectibles for 2000. Focusing on desirable "automobilia" just beginning to catch on in popularity and value, Mobilia's panel of auto writers and other experts selected items in a variety of categories, from #1 NASCAR Diecast to #1 Roadside America.

This year's #1 NASCAR Diecast is Action Performance Company's 1/24-scale 1999 tony Stewart Home Depot stock car, made exclusively for the RCCA club. Only 1000 were produced, far too little to satisfy demand from this hot driver's legion of new fans. Stewart had a rookie year like none other: winning two poles, three races, and finishing fourth in the Winston Cup points championship. Diecasts of his car are not the hottest thing in the NASCAR collecting hobby and will continue to be valuable if his career stays on course. the Action elite Tony Stewart Home Depot Car is changing hands on the collector market for more than $600--a big chunk of change compared to its $59 price.

Mobil's trademark Pegasus is one of the most popular images in vintage gas items, or "petroliana." Although adopted as the company's official logo in 1931, the winged horse first appeared in 1911. It has undergone a few changes over the years, but remains a popular icon among collectors. Mobil's flying red horse can be seen adorning vintage oil cans, porcelain signs, gas pump globes, and more. The outdoor Pegasus signs affixed to gas station walls--large cut-out horses made of embossed metal, finished in glossy red porcelain enamel and measuring between 2-8 feet long--are Mobilia's pick for the #1 Petroliana Collectible.

Winning top honors as the #1 scale model car is Exoto's 1963 Corvette Grand Sport. The company's first Grand Sport racing models--Jim Hall's no. 65 and Dr. Dick Thompson's no. 80--are accurate, intricately detailed 1/18-scale diecast metal models. Retail price of these serial-numbered, limited edition models is $149.95.

Bob's Big Boy restaurants, easily recognizable from the highway by the kitschy Big Boy statue, are a welcome sight to road-trippers throughout the U.S. As memorabilia from the Fifties has grown to become pop culture icons, Bib Boy (despite its huge size) has actually been charming his way into the homes of collectors. Roadside Americana this desirable--they are sometimes "kidnapped" by pranksters--is Mobilia's hands-down #1 choice for 2000.

Promoters have declared this to be the year Formula 1 racing, the world's most popular form of motorsport, catches on in America. The first Formula 1 Grand Prix in the U.S. since 1991 will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 24. If this event lives up to all the hype, trackside mementos like U.S. Grand Prix ticket stubs will be a savvy choice as the #1 Racing Item.

"The pinnacle of the vintage Japanese tinplate toy," says Mobilia's contributor Doug Kelly, "is the 1956 Ford by Marusan." This 13-inch toy made in the late Fifties of two-tone lithographed tin and gleaming chrome parts, combines the charm of its medium with the accuracy of its modeling. Worth well over $1000 if accompanied by its colorful original box, the '56 Marusan Ford is the #1 pick in the Antique Toy category of collectibles.

The top 1/64-scale toy, the Maisto Tonka Blizzard Tamer, might be the diecast sleeper of the year. Under license from Hasbro, owner of the classic "Tonka Toys" brand, Maisto created a series similar to the famous Matchbox 1-75 series. Numbered 1-50, the line also includes an elusive #51: the "Collector's Search" Blizzard Tamer dump truck with snow plow. Maisto says there's only one Blizzard Tamer in every three 24-piece cartons. Packages bearing the name "Big Mike"--an old Tonka name that was removed almost immediately--are even more rare. Collectors are already paying $15 or more for this $1 diecast toy.

Selecting among several clever contenders for top automotive press kit, Mobilia named the Dodge Durango piece that Chrysler handed out at the 1997 Detroit Auto Show. Taking its cue from Wheaties cereal boxes, the cover makes such claims as " The Sport Utility of Champions," "33% more seating," and "Free! Press Kit Inside!" There is also a "best-before-launch date," a list of ingredients, and product facts. Inside is the standard press kit fare--along with an actual bag of cereal. "Although this press kit does not have the investment potential of lavish Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Viper media kits, it's a lot more fun," according to Canadian journalist Norm Mort.

The debut fire truck in Code 3's "Diamond Plate" line, a 1/32-scale replica of FDNY Engine 88, was Mobilia's choice for #1 Truck Model. To appease finicky fire equipment collectors (many of them professional firefighters), Code 3 spent hundreds of hours on research and engineering. With a mere 3500 copies produced, the FDNY engine is something of a rarity. Mobilia's truck expert, Mark Macreading, praised it as "The most authentic fire truck model made for collectors to date."

Daimler Chrysler has decided that the 2001 model year will be the last for the Plymouth brand. An important part of American automotive history, there's plenty of Plymouth automobilia out there, and it will be in increasing demand once the brand is phased out. Load up now, before it's too late! Check out old neon dealership signs, Plymouth Fury magazine ads, psychedelic Sixties and Seventies Hemi muscle-car posters, and recent Prowler giveaways.

Mobilia is the magazine for collectors and aficionados of automobilia. The company launched its website in 1995, and by 1998 was the world's first online community for buying, selling and trading specialty automotive items. Check out the website at www.mobilia.com.